A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 11 eBook

lieutenant of the Tryal prize, was ordered to cruise
off the port of Acapulco for twenty-four days, that
if the galleon should set sail in that interval, we
might be speedily informed of it. In pursuance
of these resolutions we endeavoured to ply to the
westward, to gain our intended port, but were often
interrupted in our progress by calms and adverse currents:
In these intervals we employed ourselves in taking
out the most valuable part of the cargoes of the Carmelo
and Carmin prizes, which two ships we intended to
destroy as soon as we had tolerably cleared them.
By the first of April we were so far advanced towards
Seguataneo, that we thought it expedient to send out
two boats, that they might range along the coast,
and discover the watering-place; they were gone some
days, and our water being now very short, it was a
particular felicity to us that we met with daily supplies
of turtle, for had we been entirely confined to salt
provisions, we must have suffered extremely in so
warm a climate. Indeed our present circumstances
were sufficiently alarming, and gave the most considerate
amongst us as much concern as any of the numerous
perils we had hitherto encountered; for our boats,
as we conceived by their not returning, had not as
yet discovered a place proper to water at, and by the
leakage of our cask and other accidents, we had not
ten days water on board the whole squadron; so that
from the known difficulty of procuring water on this
coast, and the little reliance we had on the Buccaneer
writers, (the only guides we had to trust to) we were
apprehensive of being soon exposed to a calamity, the
most terrible of any in the long disheartening catalogue
of the distresses of a sea-faring life.

But these gloomy suggestions were soon happily ended;
for our boats returned on the 5th of April, having
discovered a place proper for our purpose, about seven
miles to the westward of the rocks of Seguataneo,
which, by the description they gave of it, appeared
to be the port called by Dampier the harbour of Chequetan.
They were ordered out again the next day, to sound
the harbour and its entrance, which they had represented
as very narrow. At their return they reported
the place to be free from any danger; so that on the
7th we stood in, and that evening came to an anchor
in eleven fathom. The Gloucester came to an anchor
at the same time with us; but the Camelo and the Carmin
having fallen to leeward, the Tryal prize was ordered
to join them, and to bring them in, which in two or
three days she effected.

SECTION XXII.

A short Account of Chequetan, and of the adjacent
Coast and Country.

The harbour of Chequetan lies in the latitude of 17
deg. 36’ N. and is about thirty leagues to the
westward of Acapulco. It is easy to be discovered
by any ship that will keep well in with the land,
especially by such as range down coast from Acapulco,
and will attend to the following particulars.